In the Loop - April 2, 2026

The expert in anything....

KEY RESOURCES IN LANGLEY

  • Guide to Key Websites and Resources: Here
  • Instructional Services Website: For all your district-vetted resources K-12!  Check it out!
  • Aboriginal Resources vetted by the District: Here
  • TCS Sites: Key resources are still being placed in these Teams. If you need access to one of these Teams, please email dzurbuchenjonker@sd35.bc.ca.
    • TCS SS-Grade 3
    • TCS Grade 4-8
    • TCS Secondary

DISTRICT LEARNING COMMONS

The DLC is your one stop shop for useful resources to enhance your teaching available to all school staff in the Langley School District. You don’t need to buy everything for all of your lessons yourself! We deliver and pick up all the items you request through district mail twice per week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Links to all the info below:

  • View and book online through Insignia Library system | Here
  • Find instructions, an area to check out new resources, request new resources and report lost or damages kits | Here
  • Sign out instructions | Here

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

*NEW!* Follow us on our UDL/Mentorship Instagram! @sd35mentorshipmoments

We post lots of events, teacher tips, UDL strategies, and more!

Interested in Becoming a Mentor? 

We are looking for Mentors in the following areas:

  1. Resource (Middle - LSS family of schools)
  2. Science/Chem 10 (REMSS family of schools)
  3. General secondary - Gr 9/10/12 (REMSS family of schools)
  4. Math/Science 9 (LSS family of schools)

Please email teachermentorship@sd35.bc.ca if you’re interested in becoming a Mentor in any of these areas or for other upcoming Mentees.  
 
New to the District or a New Role? 
If you’re a newer teacher looking for mentorship, please fill out the Mentee Information Sheet on the LTA website. Once completed, please email it to teachermentorship@sd35.bc.ca to join our program! 
 
Upcoming Events: 

Book Club: Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation.  

  1. April 14th: 4-5pm TEAMS 
  2. May 5th 4-6pm SBO HUB 

HONOURING TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

Indigenous Youth Art Contest | For Ages 5-18 | Deadline May 22, 2026 | FORED BC | More info
To celebrate the rich cultural and heritage traditions of the Indigenous people of Canada, FORED is sponsoring its annual artwork, photo and video contest. $150 cash prizes are available for Indigenous youth, aged 5-18. This contest is a wonderful opportunity to find a mentor in the Elder community to pass down this important knowledge to Indigenous youth.
Theme: Indigenous Traditional Knowledge & Medicine
Prize: 4 x $150 prizes with at least one national winner. Group work shares prize.

DISTRICT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Career Spotlight: Health Services| On-Demand Learning Feature
Learn about the different careers in the Health Services Industry! Presenters from various backgrounds in this field will talk about their occupation/role as well as their career journeys.

Basic First Aid for SD35 Staff| May 15, 2026 | Register Today!
The WorkSafeBC Basic First Aid course is an 8-hour program, including coffee and lunch breaks and is designed to provide life-saving first aid skills to workers in industry. Successful candidates must demonstrate competency in practical skills and achieve 72% or higher on a multiple-choice exam. Certification is valid for three years. 

What you will learn: 

  • Priority Action Approach
  • Primary Survey – Conscious patient / Unconscious patient 
  • Cervical spine control 
  • Airway and Breathing interventions 
  • Hemorrhage control 
  • One person CPR 
  • Minor injuries which require medical aid 
  • Management of soft tissue injuries 
  • Records and reports 

Save the Date! CUPE 1260 Spring Conference | May 15, 2026 | Registration to open in April.

EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Data Dunkers 101: A Game Plan for Bringing Data Literacy to Your Classroom Webinar | Logics Academy | April 14, 2026 | More info | Register
Data Dunkers introduces students to data science through real NBA and WNBA datasets, guiding them through the full data analysis process. From forming questions and analyzing statistics to creating visualizations and presenting insights, the approach supports key competencies including: 

  • Data literacy and digital fluency
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Communication and evidence‑based storytelling
  • Career connections within sports analytics and data science 

Join Logics Academy and step onto the court and discover how basketball and data science can combine to create an engaging learning experience for students. In this introductory session to Data Dunkers, educators will get a courtside overview of the program’s vision, structure, and how it can be implemented in a variety of classroom contexts. Explore how the blend of sport, coding, and data storytelling helps students build data literacy skills while staying motivated and connected to real-world applications. Educators can get involved with Data Dunkers by registering for their live sessions or inquiring about bringing the program in-person to your classroom or school. Questions can be directed to education@logicsacademy.com. 

Multi-Cultural Training Tour | May 2, 2026 | More info | Register
Did you know that many languages are spoken in our cities? Sign up to join an fascinating and enriching training tour of a Muslim Mosque, Hindu Temple, Buddhist Temple, and Sikh Temple. Discover global cultural communities in your neighbourhood and learn effective multi-cultural communication styles and techniques. The cost is $129 per person including a training tour certificate that recognizes participants' commitment to professional growth and cultural competence.

Transformative Educational Leadership Program (TELP) | UBC | Early Bird Deadline May 31, 2026 | More info
Designed for leaders in K-12 education, learn how to enact transformative systems changes with UBC TELP! Expand your worldview with world-class experts and build cultures of innovative practice that thrive in simple and complex school environments. This will be Dr. Judy Halbert and Dr. Linda Kaser's final year teaching the TELP program. Don't miss this chance to learn from the program's founders, who have a decade's worth of experience teaching TELP. The format is hybrid and the start date of the program is October 2026.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF/STUDENTS/CLASSES

This Month in the Arts | April 2026 | Poster
Check out this month’s arts events and come support our students in music, drama, visual art, and musical theatre throughout April.

Read Aloud Fridays with Free Author Visit in April | Scholastic | Watch Now
Celebrate #readaloudfridays this April with free virtual author visits from Scholastic! Students will enjoy hearing from award‑winning author and illustrator Dan Santat, as well as Dav Pilkey, the wildly popular creator of Dog Man, Captain Underpants, Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot, and more. Plus, several other beloved authors will also be featured throughout the month, making this an exciting opportunity to connect students with a variety of voices and stories.

The Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition 2026 is now Open | Royal Commonwealth Society | Deadline April 30, 2026 | More info | Questions | Register
This year’s theme, “Common Ground: Better Together,” invites young writers to explore the powerful forces that connect us across our Commonwealth community. The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition 2026 is open for entries until 30 April 2026. It is open to any young person from a Commonwealth country aged 18 and under. A change from last year is the introduction of regional winners. To celebrate the wide array of talent across the Commonwealth, the competition will now have one age category (under 18s), and five regional winners will be chosen from each region of the Commonwealth, including Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Europe and Americas and the Caribbean. From these five, one overall winner will be selected, and all five winners will be invited to London for a week of cultural and literary activities arranged by the Royal Commonwealth Society.

YOU Dance Livestream | The National Ballet of Canada | May 20, 2026 | Ideal for Grades 4-6 Students | More info | Register
The National Ballet of Canada is pleased to invite educators and students to join the YOU dance Livestream. This FREE virtual learning opportunity is open to all grades but is specifically designed for grades 4 to 6 students. The hour-long performance features the National Ballet’s RBC Apprentices dancing a diverse repertoire, engaging discussions led by our hosts and opportunities for the entire class to get moving. Advance registration is required and curriculum-based resources will be available prior to the livestream performance. If you are unable to join us for the livestream at 12:00 pm ET, a recording of the event will be available from May 20 to June 3 for your students to enjoy. To gain access to the recording, you must register for the event.

Escape the Labyrinth Coding Challenge | Logics Academy | Ideal for Grades 5-12 | May 20, 2026 | Register
Step onto the court of coding and enter the Labyrinth — your first challenge in the Data Dunkers program. In this interactive workshop, students will navigate a digital maze while learning the fundamentals of coding, problem-solving, and computational thinking. Along the way, they’ll experience the real process programmers go through: testing ideas, working through frustration, and celebrating small victories when their code finally works. Through teamwork and persistence, students build confidence and discover how coding can be both challenging and rewarding.

Discover Lessons from Winter Sport Legends | Canada's Sports Hall of Fame | More info
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame's education platform Beyond the Win offers on-demand viewing access to their learning resources.
  • Storytelling Series: Celebrating Winter Olympic & Paralympic Sport Heroes | Grade 6 - Post Secondary | Resource
    This education package complements the panel discussion, and offers students a chance to explore how equity and equality in sport are reflected in the lives and achievements of the featured Hall of Famers.
  • Respecting the Game: The Story of Jackie Barrett Lesson Plan | Grade 4-9 | Resource
    This lesson plan connects youth to the legacy, impact, and lessons of Jackie Barrett, the first Special Olympics athlete inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
  • Hall of Famer Movement Breaks | All Grades | Videos
    Movement Breaks are short, engaging activities designed to help students stay focused, energized, and ready to learn! Perfect for classroom transitions or as a brain boost during lessons, movement breaks are a fun and engaging way to promote health and wellness.
  • Panel Discussion of Olympic and ParaOlympic Sports Heroes | Recording
    Through guided conversation and reflection, panelists explored themes of inclusion, accessibility, environmental responsibility, and fair play—highlighting how sport on the world stage reflects shared values and global responsibility beyond medals and podiums.

BugQuest Across Canada | More info | How to Join
BugQuest is working toward 1,000 sites across Canada, and every school that takes part helps build a stronger picture of insect biodiversity across the country. Schools participate by hosting a seasonal insect trap on their grounds during Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. Participation is free, and BugQuest provides the trap, instructions, laboratory processing, species identification, and covers all shipping costs. Hosting a trap is simple and takes about 15 minutes per week for a few weeks per year. In return, your school can involve students in hands-on science, generate biodiversity data from its own grounds, and connect learning in ecology, genetics, and data to a real national project.

LEARNING RESOURCES

The Canadian Encyclopedia Educators Page | Historica Canada | More info
Looking for education guides, videos, podcasts and more? Visit the revamped Educators' page on The Canadian Encyclopedia. You can now sort the learning resources by time period, curriculum theme or resource type. All the tools you need for teaching history, geography and civics right at your fingertips.

Renewable Energy Around the Globe | Power Smart | More info | Get an EarthBall
Renewable energy around the globe, explores how this natural energy can be harnessed for electricity. Your students will learn about renewable energy sources and then research places around the world where they're used, like how we turn rushing rivers into hydroelectricity here in B.C.
To make your lessons more hands-on, Power Smart is giving away one free EarthBall per classroom (while supplies last). These beach ball-sized models are fun to play with and make a great companion to the new activity and explorations of the powerful planet.

2026 Census Teacher's Kit | Statistics Canada | More info
To support classroom learning across the country, Statistics Canada has developed the 2026 Census Teacher’s Kit, a classroom-ready resource that helps students understand what the census is used for, how it is conducted, and the role it has played in shaping present-day Canada.
The Teacher’s Kit includes five ready-to-use activities, available in English and French, that bring subjects such as mathematics, social studies, and language studies to life in engaging and practical ways. Activities are suitable for elementary, intermediate, and secondary classrooms.

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL READINGS

UDL: The Teacher’s Guide to UDL: Moving from Framework to Facilitation - by Katie Novak | Blog
This brief blog from Katie Novak provides a brief introduction to the Katie's Teacher's Guide to UDL Kit that provides teachers a how to on how to implement her UDL Framework in practice in the classroom.  You can read her blog and access the Teacher's Guide for free at the link above.

Parenting in the Screen Age Podcast: ADHD, Screen and Sleep | Podcast
In the most recent Screenagers Podcast, host Delaney Ruston is joined by guest Dr. Erin Schoenfelder Gonzalez, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Seattle Children’s Hospital who has spent much of her career helping young people with ADHD and their families. Their conversation focuses on what ADHD looks like at different ages and what parenting skills can really help with screen time, physical activity, and sleep. You can find the podcast via the link above.

Screenagers Blog: Dopamine Cliffs, ADHD and Screens: Key Strategies for Parents | Blog
As a follow up to the podcast above, Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston dives into and shares two of the key strategies discussed in the podcast. You can find her blog at the link above.

TECH TIPS

District Artificial Intelligence (AI) Resources | Digital Tools and Technology
As the world of Artificial Intelligence continues to evolve rapidly, we felt it was a good time to remind staff of the District AI guidelines and AI resources that have been developed here in Langley to support all educators as they work with AI both for their own purposes and also as it pertains to students using AI or using AI in classrooms with students.  All of the resources shared below also exist on the Digital Tools and Technology page on the Instructional Services website which can be found at the link above.

District AI Guidelines | SD#35
In Langley Schools, we will be using Microsoft Copilot as the primary approved tool for Generative AI.  As well, the District has developed clear AI guidelines for staff, teachers and students which can be found at the link above.

AI Resources for Educators

AI Resources for Students

Promoting Academic Integrity in the Age of AI | Article
In the age of generative AI, the conversation around academic integrity for students is at the top of mind for many teachers. John Spencer, a respected educational thought leader, has an intriguing article on the topic that might promote some thinking.